2023-11000.pdf

33116 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 23, 2023 / Notices your search to documents published by the Department.

James Lane, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Delegated the Authority to Perform the Functions and Duties of the Assistant Secretary, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.

[FR Doc. 2023–11001 Filed 5–22–23; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED–2023–SCC–0091]

Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request;

Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) Survey 2023–2025

AGENCY: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Department of Education (ED).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Department is proposing a revision of a currently approved information collection request (ICR).

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before July 24, 2023.

ADDRESSES: To access and review all the documents related to the information collection listed in this notice, please use http://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED– 2023–SCC–0091. Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http:// www.regulations.gov by selecting the Docket ID number or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery.

If the regulations.gov site is not available to the public for any reason, the Department will temporarily accept comments at ICDocketMgr@ed.gov.

Please include the docket ID number and the title of the information collection request when requesting documents or submitting comments.

Please note that comments submitted after the comment period will not be accepted. Written requests for information or comments submitted by postal mail or delivery should be addressed to the Manager of the Strategic Collections and Clearance Governance and Strategy Division, U.S.

Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, LBJ, Room 4C210, Washington, DC 20202–8240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to collection activities, please contact Carrie Clarady, 202–245–6347.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public’s reporting burden.

It also helps the public understand the Department’s information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. The Department is soliciting comments on the proposed information collection request (ICR) that is described below.

The Department is especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues: (1) is this collection necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely manner;

(3) is the estimate of burden accurate;

(4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology. Please note that written comments received in response to this notice will be considered public records.

Title of Collection: Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) Survey 2023–2025.

OMB Control Number: 1850–0933.

Type of Review: A revision of a currently approved ICR.

Respondents/Affected Public: State, local, and Tribal governments.

Total Estimated Number of Annual

Responses: 75.

Total Estimated Number of Annual

Burden Hours: 94.

Abstract: The National Center for

Education Statistics (NCES), of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), within the U.S. Department of Education, is requesting clearance to continue the Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) Survey collection, which is intended to provide insight on State and U.S. territory SLDS capacity for automated linking of K–12, teacher, postsecondary, workforce, career and technical education (CTE), adult education, and early childhood data.

Historically, SLDS has collected information annually from State Education Agencies (SEAs) and has helped inform NCES ongoing evaluation and targeted technical assistance efforts to enhance the quality of the SLDS Program’s support to States regarding systems development, enhancement, and use. The request to conduct all activities related to SLDS 2021–2023, including materials and procedures, was approved by OMB in October 2021 (OMB#1859–0933 v.10).

This new request is to conduct all activities related to SLDS 2023–25, continuing usage of the Qualtrics information collection tool initiated in the 2023 collection. The appendices include updated communications, webinars, and Qualtrics instrument screenshots related to the SLDS 2023–25 collection. While minor adjustments were made to questions and language, the primary change proposed in this package is a shift from an annual to a biennial collection. Nationwide, SLDS system capacity changes frequently (ex.

Infrastructure enhancements, evolving P20W agency collaborations, State legislation impacts, etc.), but analysis demonstrates that the COVID–19 pandemic stagnated the work to some extent. The 2019–20 Statistics in Brief and accompanying data file (anticipated May 2023 publication release) indicate very little change in results over the two-year period, indicating that shifting to an every-other-year collection would allow for more timely releases of data, with no adverse effect on the integrity of the information.

Dated: May 18, 2023.

Stephanie Valentine, PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development.

[FR Doc. 2023–10943 Filed 5–22–23; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Applications for New Awards;

Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Program—Expansion Grants

AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Department of Education (Department) is issuing a notice inviting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2023 for the EIR program—Expansion Grants, Assistance Listing Number 84.411A (Expansion Grants). This notice relates to the approved information collection under OMB control number 1894–0006.

DATES:

Applications Available: May 25, 2023.

Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply:

June 22, 2023.

Deadline for Transmittal of

Applications: July 12, 2023.

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33117 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 23, 2023 / Notices

1 U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona laid out his vision for the direction the agency will follow in 2023 to promote academic excellence, improve learning conditions, and prepare our students for a world where global engagement is critical to our Nation’s standing. In his address, Secretary Cardona remarked that ‘‘Raise the Bar:

Lead the World’’ is not a list of new priorities, but a call to strengthen our will to transform education for the better, building on approaches that we know work in education. More information is available at https://www.ed.gov/raisethebar.

Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: September 11, 2023.

Pre-Application Information: The Department will post additional competition information for prospective applicants on the EIR program website:

https://oese.ed.gov/offices/office-of-discretionary-grants-support-services/ innovation-early-learning/education-innovation-and-research-eir/fy-2023-competition/.

ADDRESSES: For the addresses for obtaining and submitting an application, please refer to our Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the Federal Register on December 7, 2022 (7 FR 75045), and available at https:// www.federalregister.gov/documents/ 2022/12/07/2022-26554/common-instructions-for-applicants-to-department-of-education-discretionary-grant-programs. Please note that these Common Instructions supersede the version published on December 27, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Yvonne Crockett, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202–5900.

Telephone: 202–987–1753. Email: eir@ ed.gov.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7–1–1.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description Purpose of Program: The EIR program, established under section 4611 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended (ESEA), provides funding to create, develop, implement, replicate, or take to scale entrepreneurial, evidence-based (as defined in this notice), field-initiated innovations to improve student achievement and attainment for high-need students and to rigorously evaluate such innovations. The EIR program is designed to generate and validate solutions to persistent education challenges and to support the expansion of those solutions to serve substantially higher numbers of students.

The central design element of the EIR program is its multitier structure that links the amount of funding an applicant may receive to the quality of the evidence supporting the efficacy of the proposed project. A goal of the program is for projects that build this evidence to advance through EIR’s grant tiers: ‘‘Early-phase,’’ ‘‘Mid-phase,’’ and ‘‘Expansion.’’

‘‘Early-phase,’’ ‘‘Mid-phase,’’ and ‘‘Expansion’’ grants differ in terms of the evidence of effectiveness required to be considered for funding, the expectations regarding the kind of evidence and information funded projects should produce, the scale of funded projects, and, consequently, the amount of funding available to support each type of project.

Expansion grants are supported by strong evidence (as defined in this notice) for at least one population and setting, and grantees are encouraged to implement at the national level (as defined in this notice). Expansion grants provide funding for the implementation and rigorous evaluation of a program that has been found to produce sizable, significant impacts under a Mid-phase grant or other effort meeting similar criteria, for the purposes of (a) determining whether such impacts can be successfully reproduced and sustained over time, and (b) identifying the conditions in which the program is most effective.

This notice invites applications for Expansion grants only. The notices inviting applications for Early-phase and Mid-phase grants are published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.

Background While this notice is for the Expansion tier only, the premise of the EIR program is that new and innovative educational programs and practices can help to overcome the persistent and significant challenges to student success, particularly for underserved and high-need students. Raise the Bar:

Lead the World is the Department’s call to action to transform pre-kindergarten (pre-K) through grade 12 education and unite around what truly works by promoting academic excellence, boldly improving learning conditions, and preparing of our Nation’s students for global competitiveness. Consistent with that call to action, the priorities used in this competition advance Raise the Bar’s goals to promote academic excellence and boldly improve learning conditions.

In FY 2023, the Department is particularly interested in projects that propose services and activities that help to not only recover from the COVID–19 pandemic but reimagine schools and transform our education system. The priorities used in this competition are designed to create conditions under which students have equitable access to high-quality learning opportunities and experiences.1

Note: The EIR program statute refers to ‘‘high-need students’’ but does not define the term, which allows applicants to define it for purposes of the applicant’s proposed project, population, and setting. Note that, for the EIR program, addressing the needs of underserved students (as defined in this notice) is one way to address the statutory requirement for serving ‘‘high-need students.’’

The EIR program is rooted in innovation; the program is not intended to provide support for practices that are already commonly implemented by educators, unless significant adaptations of such practices warrant testing to determine if they can accelerate achievement, or increase the likelihood that the practices can be widely, efficiently, and effectively implemented in new populations and settings. If evaluation demonstrates that innovations are supported by strong evidence, EIR seeks applicants who can replicate and test these innovations in new populations and settings.

As an EIR project is implemented, grantees are encouraged to learn more about how the practices improve student achievement and attainment as well as to develop increasingly rigorous evidence of effectiveness and new strategies to efficiently and cost-effectively scale to new school districts, regions, and States. We encourage applicants to develop a logic model (as defined in this notice), theory of action, or another conceptual framework that includes the goals, objectives, outcomes, and key project components (as defined in this notice) of the project that can support systems of continuous improvement.

All EIR applicants and grantees should also consider how they need to develop their organizational capacity, project financing, or business plans to sustain their projects and continue implementation and adaptation after Federal funding ends. The Department intends to provide grantees with technical assistance to support dissemination, scaling, and sustainability efforts.

Expansion projects are expected to scale practices that have prior evidence of effectiveness to improve outcomes for high-need and underserved students.

They are also expected to generate

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33118 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 23, 2023 / Notices important information about an intervention’s effectiveness, such as for whom and in which contexts a practice is most effective, including cost considerations such as economies of scale. Expansion projects are uniquely positioned to help answer critical questions about the process of scaling a practice to the national level across geographies as well as locale types.

Expansion grantees are encouraged to consider how the cost structure of a practice can change as the intervention scales. Additionally, grantees may want to consider how their project will balance implementation fidelity and flexibility for scaling.

Expansion applicants are encouraged to design an evaluation that has the potential to meet strong evidence.

Expansion grantees should measure the cost—effectiveness of their practices using administrative or other readily available data. These types of efforts are critical to sustaining and scaling EIR-funded effective practices after the EIR grant period ends (assuming that the practice has positive effects on important student outcomes). To support adoption or replication by other entities, the evaluation of an Expansion project should identify and codify the core elements of the EIR-supported practice that the project implements, as well as examine the effectiveness of the project for any new populations or settings that are included in the project.

The Department intends to provide grantees (including the independent evaluators they contract with as part of their project) with evaluation technical assistance. This could include grantees and their independent evaluators providing to the Department or its contractor updated comprehensive evaluation plans in a format as requested by the technical assistance provider and using such tools as the Department may request. Grantees will be encouraged to update this evaluation plan at least annually to reflect any changes to the evaluation. Updates must be consistent with the scope and objectives of the approved application.

The FY 2023 Expansion grant competition includes two absolute priorities and one competitive preference priority. Applicants must address both Absolute priorities.

Applicants have the option of addressing the competitive preference priority.

Absolute Priority 1—Strong Evidence establishes the evidence requirement for this tier of grants. All Expansion applicants must submit prior evidence of effectiveness that meets the strong evidence standard.

Absolute Priority 2—Field-Initiated Innovations—General gives applicants the option to propose projects that are field-initiated innovations to improve student achievement and attainment.

The competitive preference priority is intended to encourage applicants to propose projects that involve (as applicants or partners) entities underrepresented in the program’s portfolio of grants. The Department is eager to increase the volume of applicants and partners from entities including community colleges (as defined in this notice), historically Black colleges and universities (as defined in this notice), Tribal Colleges and Universities (as defined in this notice), and minority-serving institutions (as defined in this notice).

The Department seeks projects that develop and evaluate evidence-based, field-initiated innovations to address inequities in our country’s education system. The proposed innovations should be designed to better enable students to access educational opportunities to succeed in school and reach their full potential. The Department expects applicants, by scaling innovative ideas, will raise the bar to reimagine schools.

Through these priorities, the Department intends to advance innovation, build evidence, and address the learning and achievement of underserved and high-need students in pre-K through grade 12.

Priorities: This notice includes two absolute priorities and one competitive preference priority. In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(ii), Absolute Priority 1 is from the list of program priorities established in 34 CFR 75.226(d)(2). In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(iv), Absolute Priority 2 is from the program statute in section 4611(a)(1)(A) of the ESEA. The competitive preference priority is from the Supplemental Priorities and Definitions for Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the Federal Register on December 10, 2021 (86 FR 70612) (Supplemental Priorities).

Absolute Priorities: For FY 2023 and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition, these priorities are absolute priorities.

Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), we consider only applications that meet both Absolute Priority 1 and Absolute Priority 2.

These priorities are:

Absolute Priority 1—Strong Evidence Projects supported by evidence that meets the conditions in the definition of strong evidence.

Note: An applicant must identify up to four studies to be reviewed against the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Handbooks (as defined in this notice) for the purposes of meeting the definition of strong evidence. The studies may have been conducted by the applicant or by a third party. An applicant must clearly identify the citation for each study in the Evidence form. An applicant must ensure that all cited studies are available to the Department from publicly available sources and provide links or other guidance indicating where each is available. The Department may not review a study that an applicant fails to clearly identify for review.

In addition to including up to four study citations, an applicant must provide in the Evidence form the following information: (1) the positive student outcomes the applicant intends to replicate under its Expansion grant and how these outcomes correspond to the positive student outcomes in the cited studies; (2) the characteristics of the population to be served under its Expansion grant and how these characteristics correspond to the characteristics of the students in the cited studies; (3) the characteristics of the setting to be served under its Expansion grant and how these characteristics correspond to the settings in the cited studies; and (4) the practice(s) the applicant plans to implement under its Expansion grant and how the practice(s) correspond with the practice(s) in the cited studies.

If the Department determines that an applicant has provided insufficient information, the applicant will not have an opportunity to provide additional information. However, if the WWC team reviewing evidence determines that a study does not provide enough information on key aspects of the study design, such as sample attrition or equivalence of intervention and comparison groups, the WWC may submit a query to the study author(s) to gather information for use in determining a study rating. Authors would be asked to respond to queries within 10 business days. Should the author query remain incomplete within 14 days of the initial contact with the study author(s), the study may be deemed ineligible under the grant competition. After the grant competition closes, the WWC will, for purposes of its own curation of studies, continue to include responses to author queries and make updates to study reviews as necessary. However, no additional information will be considered after the competition closes and the initial

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33119 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 23, 2023 / Notices timeline established for response to an author query passes.

Absolute Priority 2—Field-Initiated Innovations—General

Projects designed to create, develop, implement, replicate, or take to scale entrepreneurial, evidence-based, field-initiated innovations to improve student achievement and attainment for high-need students.

Competitive Preference Priority: For FY 2023 and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition, this priority is a competitive preference priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), we award up to an additional 5 points to an application, depending on how well the application addresses the competitive preference priority.

This priority is:

Promoting Equity in Student Access to

Educational Resources and Opportunities: Implementers and Partners (up to 5 points).

Under this priority, an applicant must demonstrate how the project will be implemented by or in partnership with one or more of the following entities:

(a) Community colleges (as defined in this notice).

(b) Historically Black colleges and universities (as defined in this notice).

(c) Tribal Colleges and Universities (as defined in this notice).

(d) Minority-serving institutions (as defined in this notice).

Definitions: The following definitions apply to this program. The definitions of ‘‘baseline,’’ ‘‘experimental study,’’ ‘‘logic model,’’ ‘‘strong evidence,’’ ‘‘national level,’’ ‘‘nonprofit,’’ ‘‘performance measure,’’ ‘‘performance target,’’ ‘‘project component,’’ ‘‘relevant outcome,’’ and ‘‘What Works Clearinghouse Handbooks (WWC Handbooks)’’ are from 34 CFR 77.1. The definitions of ‘‘evidence-based,’’ ‘‘local educational agency’’ and ‘‘State educational agency’’ are from section 8101 of the ESEA. The definitions of ‘‘community college,’’ ‘‘children or students with disabilities,’’ ‘‘disconnected youth,’’ ‘‘early learning,’’ ‘‘English learner,’’ ‘‘historically Black colleges and universities,’’ ‘‘military- or veteran-connected student,’’ ‘‘minority-serving institutions,’’ ‘‘Tribal College or University,’’ and ‘‘underserved student’’ are from the Supplemental Priorities.

Baseline means the starting point from which performance is measured and targets are set.

Children or students with disabilities means children with disabilities as defined in section 602(3) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education

Act (IDEA) (20 U.S.C. 1401(3)) and 34 CFR 300.8, or students with disabilities, as defined in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 705(37), 705(202)(B)).

Community college means ‘‘junior or community college’’ as defined in section 312(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA).

Disconnected youth means an individual, between the ages 14 and 24, who may be from a low-income background, experiences homelessness, is in foster care, is involved in the justice system, or is not working or not enrolled in (or at risk of dropping out of) an educational institution.

Early learning means any (a) State-licensed or State-regulated program or provider, regardless of setting or funding source, that provides early care and education for children from birth to kindergarten entry, including, but not limited to, any program operated by a child care center or in a family child care home; (b) program funded by the Federal Government or State or local educational agencies (including any IDEA-funded program); (c) Early Head Start and Head Start program; (d) non-relative child care provider who is not otherwise regulated by the State and who regularly cares for two or more unrelated children for a fee in a provider setting; and (e) other program that may deliver early learning and development services in a child’s home, such as the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program;

Early Head Start; and Part C of IDEA.

English learner means an individual who is an English learner as defined in section 8101(20) of the ESEA, or an individual who is an English language learner as defined in section 203(7) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

Evidence-based means an activity, strategy, or intervention that—

(i) demonstrates a statistically significant effect on improving student outcomes or other relevant outcomes based on—

(I) strong evidence from at least 1 well-designed and well-implemented experimental study;

(II) moderate evidence from at least 1 well-designed and well-implemented quasi-experimental study; or

(III) promising evidence from at least 1 well-designed and well-implemented correlational study with statistical controls for selection bias; or

(ii)(I) demonstrates a rationale based on high-quality research findings or positive evaluation that such activity, strategy, or intervention is likely to improve student outcomes or other relevant outcomes; and

(II) includes ongoing efforts to examine the effects of such activity, strategy, or intervention.

Experimental study means a study that is designed to compare outcomes between two groups of individuals (such as students) that are otherwise equivalent except for their assignment to either a treatment group receiving a project component or a control group that does not. Randomized controlled trials, regression discontinuity design studies, and single-case design studies are the specific types of experimental studies that, depending on their design and implementation (e.g., sample attrition in randomized controlled trials and regression discontinuity design studies), can meet What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) standards without reservations as described in the WWC Handbooks (as defined in this notice):

(i) A randomized controlled trial employs random assignment of, for example, students, teachers, classrooms, or schools to receive the project component being evaluated (the treatment group) or not to receive the project component (the control group).

(ii) A regression discontinuity design study assigns the project component being evaluated using a measured variable (e.g., assigning students reading below a cutoff score to tutoring or developmental education classes) and controls for that variable in the analysis of outcomes.

(iii) A single-case design study uses observations of a single case (e.g., a student eligible for a behavioral intervention) over time in the absence and presence of a controlled treatment manipulation to determine whether the outcome is systematically related to the treatment.

Historically Black colleges and universities means colleges and universities that meet the criteria set out in 34 CFR 608.2.

Local educational agency (LEA) means:

(a) In General. A public board of education or other public authority legally constituted within a State for either administrative control or direction of, or to perform a service function for, public elementary schools or secondary schools in a city, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision of a State, or of or for a combination of school districts or counties that is recognized in a State as an administrative agency for its public elementary schools or secondary schools.

(b) Administrative Control and Direction. The term includes any other public institution or agency having

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33120 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 23, 2023 / Notices administrative control and direction of a public elementary school or secondary school.

(c) Bureau of Indian Education Schools. The term includes an elementary school or secondary school funded by the Bureau of Indian Education but only to the extent that including the school makes the school eligible for programs for which specific eligibility is not provided to the school in another provision of law and the school does not have a student population that is smaller than the student population of the LEA receiving assistance under the ESEA with the smallest student population, except that the school shall not be subject to the jurisdiction of any State educational agency (SEA) (as defined in this notice) other than the Bureau of Indian Education.

(d) Educational Service Agencies. The term includes educational service agencies and consortia of those agencies.

(e) State Educational Agency. The term includes the SEA in a State in which the SEA is the sole educational agency for all public schools.

Logic model (also referred to as a theory of action) means a framework that identifies key project components of the proposed project (i.e., the active ‘‘ingredients’’ that are hypothesized to be critical to achieving the relevant outcomes) and describes the theoretical and operational relationships among the key project components and relevant outcomes.

Military- or veteran-connected student means one or more of the following:

(a) A child participating in an early learning program, a student enrolled in preschool through grade 12, or a student enrolled in career and technical education or postsecondary education who has a parent or guardian who is a member of the uniformed services (as defined by 37 U.S.C. 101), in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Space Force, National Guard, Reserves, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or Public Health Service or is a veteran of the uniformed services with an honorable discharge (as defined by 38 U.S.C.

3311).

(b) A student who is a member of the uniformed services, a veteran of the uniformed services, or the spouse of a service member or veteran.

(c) A child participating in an early learning program, a student enrolled in preschool through grade 12, or a student enrolled in career and technical education or postsecondary education who has a parent or guardian who is a veteran of the uniformed services (as defined by 37 U.S.C. 101).

Minority-serving institution means an institution that is eligible to receive assistance under sections 316 through 320 of part A of title III, under part B of title III, or under title V of the HEA.

National level describes the level of scope or effectiveness of a process, product, strategy, or practice that can be effective in a wide variety of communities, including rural and urban areas, as well as with different groups (e.g., economically disadvantaged, racial and ethnic groups, migrant populations, individuals with disabilities, English learners, and individuals of each gender).

Nonprofit, as applied to an agency, organization, or institution, means that it is owned and operated by one or more corporations or associations whose net earnings do not benefit, and cannot lawfully benefit, any private shareholder or entity.

Performance measure means any quantitative indicator, statistic, or metric used to gauge program or project performance.

Performance target means a level of performance that an applicant would seek to meet during the course of a project or as a result of a project.

Project component means an activity, strategy, intervention, process, product, practice, or policy included in a project.

Evidence may pertain to an individual project component or to a combination of project components (e.g., training teachers on instructional practices for English learners and follow-on coaching for these teachers).

Relevant outcome means the student outcome(s) or other outcome(s) the key project component is designed to improve, consistent with the specific goals of the program.

State educational agency (SEA) means the agency primarily responsible for the State supervision of public elementary schools and secondary schools.

Strong evidence means that there is evidence of the effectiveness of a key project component in improving a relevant outcome for a sample that overlaps with the populations and settings proposed to receive that component, based on a relevant finding from one of the following:

(i) A practice guide prepared by the WWC using version 2.1, 3.0, 4.0, or 4.1 of the WWC Handbooks reporting a ‘‘strong evidence base’’ for the corresponding practice guide recommendation;

(ii) An intervention report prepared by the WWC using version 2.1, 3.0, 4.0, or 4.1 of the WWC Handbooks reporting a ‘‘positive effect’’ on a relevant outcome based on a ‘‘medium to large’’ extent of evidence, with no reporting of a ‘‘negative effect’’ or ‘‘potentially negative effect’’ on a relevant outcome;

or

(iii) A single experimental study reviewed and reported by the WWC using version 2.1, 3.0, 4.0, or 4.1 of the WWC Handbooks, or otherwise assessed by the Department using version 4.1 of the WWC Handbook, as appropriate, and that—

(A) Meets WWC standards without reservations;

(B) Includes at least one statistically significant and positive (i.e., favorable) effect on a relevant outcome;

(C) Includes no overriding statistically significant and negative effects on relevant outcomes reported in the study or in a corresponding WWC intervention report prepared under version 2.1, 3.0, 4.0, or 4.1 of the WWC Handbooks; and

(D) Is based on a sample from more than one site (e.g., State, county, city, school district, or postsecondary campus) and includes at least 350 students or other individuals across sites. Multiple studies of the same project component that each meet requirements in paragraphs (iii)(A), (B), and (C) of this definition may together satisfy this requirement in this paragraph (iii)(D).

Tribal College or University has the meaning ascribed it in section 316(b)(3) of the HEA.

Underserved student means a student (which may include children in early learning environments, students in K– 12 programs, and students in postsecondary education or career and technical education, as appropriate) in one or more of the following subgroups:

(a) A student who is living in poverty or is served by schools with high concentrations of students living in poverty.

(b) A student of color.

(c) A student who is a member of a federally recognized Indian Tribe.

(d) An English learner.

(e) A child or student with a disability.

(f) A disconnected youth.

(g) A technologically unconnected youth.

(h) A migrant student.

(i) A student experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity.

(j) A lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, or intersex (LGBTQI+) student.

(k) A student who is in foster care.

(l) A student without documentation of immigration status.

(m) A pregnant, parenting, or caregiving student.

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(n) A student impacted by the justice system, including a formerly incarcerated student.

(o) A student who is the first in their family to attend postsecondary education.

(p) A student performing significantly below grade level.

(q) A military- or veteran-connected student.

What Works Clearinghouse Handbooks (WWC Handbooks) means the standards and procedures set forth in the WWC Standards Handbook, Versions 4.0 or 4.1, and WWC Procedures Handbook, Versions 4.0 or 4.1, or in the WWC Procedures and Standards Handbook, Version 3.0 or Version 2.1 (all incorporated by reference, see § 77.2). Study findings eligible for review under WWC standards can meet WWC standards without reservations, meet WWC standards with reservations, or not meet WWC standards. WWC practice guides and intervention reports include findings from systematic reviews of evidence as described in the WWC Handbooks documentation.

Note: The What Works Clearinghouse Procedures and Standards Handbook (Version 4.1), as well as the more recent What Works Clearinghouse Handbooks released in August 2022 (Version 5.0), are available at https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/ wwc/Handbooks.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7261.

Note: Projects will be awarded and must be operated in a manner consistent with the nondiscrimination requirements contained in Federal civil rights laws.

Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 81, 82, 84, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The Office of Management and Budget Guidelines to Agencies on Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement) in 2 CFR part 180, as adopted and amended as regulations of the Department in 2 CFR part 3485. (c) The Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards in 2 CFR part 200, as adopted and amended as regulations of the Department in 2 CFR part 3474. (d) The Supplemental Priorities.

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of higher education (IHEs) only.

II. Award Information Type of Award: Discretionary grants.

Estimated Available Funds:

$273,000,000.

These estimated available funds are the total available for new awards for all three types of grants under the EIR program (Early-phase, Mid-phase, and Expansion grants).

Contingent upon the availability of funds and the quality of applications, we may make additional awards in subsequent years from the list of unfunded applications.

Estimated Average Size of Awards:

Up to $15,000,000.

Maximum Award: We will not make an award exceeding $15,000,000 for a project period of 60 months. The Department intends to fund one or more projects under each of the EIR competitions, including Expansion (84.411A), Mid-phase (84.411B), and Early-phase (84.411C). Entities may submit applications for different projects for more than one competition (Early-phase, Mid-phase, and Expansion). The maximum new award amount a grantee may receive under these three competitions, taken together, is $15,000,000. If an entity is within funding range for multiple applications, the Department will award the highest scoring applications up to $15,000,000.

Estimated Number of Awards: 4–8.

Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this notice.

Project Period: Up to 60 months.

Note: Under section 4611(c) of the

ESEA, the Department must use at least 25 percent of EIR funds for a fiscal year to make awards to applicants serving rural areas, contingent on receipt of a sufficient number of applications of sufficient quality. For purposes of this competition, we will consider an applicant as rural if the applicant meets the qualifications for rural applicants as described in the Eligible Applicants section and the applicant certifies that it meets those qualifications through the application. In implementing this statutory provision and program requirement, the Department may fund high-quality applications from rural applicants out of rank order in the Expansion competition.

In addition, from the estimated funds for this competition, the Department intends to award an estimated $87 million in funds for STEM projects and $87 million in funds for social and emotional learning projects, contingent on receipt of a sufficient number of applications of sufficient quality.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants:

(a) An LEA;

(b) An SEA;

(c) The Bureau of Indian Education

(BIE);

(d) A consortium of SEAs or LEAs;

(e) A nonprofit (as defined in this notice) organization; and

(f) An LEA, an SEA, the BIE, or a consortium described in clause (d), in partnership with—

(1) A nonprofit organization;

(2) A business;

(3) An educational service agency; or

(4) An IHE.

To qualify as a rural applicant under the EIR program, an applicant must meet both of the following requirements:

(a) The applicant is—

(1) An LEA with an urban-centric district locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43, as determined by the Secretary;

(2) A consortium of such LEAs;

(3) An educational service agency or a nonprofit organization in partnership with such an LEA; or

(4) A grantee described in clause (1) or (2) in partnership with an SEA; and

(b) A majority of the schools to be served by the program are designated with a locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43, or a combination of such codes, as determined by the Secretary.

Applicants are encouraged to retrieve locale codes from the National Center for Education Statistics School District search tool (https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/ districtsearch/), where districts can be looked up individually to retrieve locale codes, and the Public School search tool (https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/), where individual schools can be looked up to retrieve locale codes. More information on rural applicant eligibility will be in the application package for this competition.

Note: If you are a nonprofit organization, under 34 CFR 75.51, you may demonstrate your nonprofit status by providing: (1) proof that the Internal Revenue Service currently recognizes the applicant as an organization to which contributions are tax deductible under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; (2) a statement from a State taxing body or the State attorney general certifying that the organization is a nonprofit organization operating within the State and that no part of its net earnings may lawfully benefit any private shareholder or individual; (3) a certified copy of the applicant’s certificate of incorporation or similar document if it clearly establishes the nonprofit status of the applicant; or (4) any item described above if that item applies to a State or national parent organization, together with a statement by the State or parent organization that the applicant is a local nonprofit affiliate.

In addition, with respect to IHEs and their affiliates, the following may apply:

(1) As noted above, any IHE that is a partner in an application submitted by an LEA, SEA, BIE, consortium of SEAs

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33122 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 99 / Tuesday, May 23, 2023 / Notices or LEAs, or a nonprofit organization; (2) A private IHE that is a nonprofit organization; (3) A nonprofit organization, such as a development foundation, that is affiliated with a public IHE; and (4) A public IHE with 501(c)(3) status. A public IHE without 501(c)(3) status (even if that entity is tax exempt under Section 115 of the Internal Revenue Code or any other State or Federal provision), or that could not provide any other documentation of nonprofit status described above, however, would not qualify as a nonprofit organization, and therefore would not be eligible to apply for and receive an EIR grant.

2. a. Cost Sharing or Matching: Under section 4611(d) of the ESEA, each grant recipient must provide, from Federal, State, local, or private sources, an amount equal to 10 percent of funds provided under the grant, which may be provided in cash or through in-kind contributions, to carry out activities supported by the grant. Grantees must include a budget showing their matching contributions to the budget amount of EIR grant funds and must provide evidence of their matching contributions for the first year of the grant in their grant applications.

Section 4611(d) of the ESEA authorizes the Secretary to waive the matching requirement on a case-by-case basis, upon a showing of exceptional circumstances, such as:

(i) The difficulty of raising matching funds for a program to serve a rural area;

(ii) The difficulty of raising matching funds in areas with a concentration of LEAs or schools with a high percentage of students aged 5 through 17—

(A) Who are in poverty, as counted in the most recent census data approved by the Secretary;

(B) Who are eligible for a free or reduced-price lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.);

(C) Whose families receive assistance under the State program funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); or

(D) Who are eligible to receive medical assistance under the Medicaid program; and

(iii) The difficulty of raising funds on Tribal land.

An applicant that wishes to apply for a waiver must include a request in its application, describing the exceptional circumstances that make it difficult for the applicant to meet the matching requirement. Further information about applying for waivers can be found in the application package for this competition.

b. Indirect Cost Rate Information: This program uses an unrestricted indirect cost rate. For more information regarding indirect costs, or to obtain a negotiated indirect cost rate, please see www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocfo/ intro.html.

c. Administrative Cost Limitation:

This program does not include any program-specific limitation on administrative expenses. All administrative expenses must be reasonable and necessary and conform to Cost Principles described in 2 CFR part 200 subpart E of the Uniform Guidance.

3. Subgrantees: A grantee under this competition may not award subgrants to entities to directly carry out project activities described in its application.

4. Other: a. Funding Categories: An applicant will be considered for an award only for the type of EIR grant for which it applies. An applicant may not submit an application for the same proposed project under more than one type of grant (e.g., both an Expansion grant and Mid-phase grant).

Note: Each application will be reviewed under the competition in which it was submitted in the Grants.gov system, and only applications that are successfully submitted by the established deadline will be peer reviewed. Applicants should be careful that they download the intended EIR application package and that they submit their applications under the intended EIR competition.

b. Evaluation: The grantee must conduct an independent evaluation of the effectiveness of its project.

c. High-need students: The grantee must serve high-need students.

IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Application Submission Instructions: Applicants are required to follow the Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the Federal Register on December 7, 2022 (87 FR 75045), and available at https://…